Tahoe
Early History Colonization Starting in the 17th century, Europeans were exploring and settling the wild lands of the New World, in particular a distant land known only as California. Conquered by the Spanish, then the Mexican Empire, and finally the United States, California was colonized and inhabited by European people, mostly destroying the native inhabitants that once called it home. But this was also a time of turmoil in Europe. Wars of Religion, and in Ireland, British imperialism that drove millions into starvation and forced millions more to flee to the United States. One such group, known only as "Na Fianna" traveled to the United States with the goal of setting up a new nation, in the American tradition for Irishmen and Irishwomen who were dedicated to the old ways: Catholicism, Gaeilge, and Celtic Nationalism. They set their sights for California, and by 1845 nearly 10,000 Irish had settled in the Great Valley, in and around Sacramento, which they called Cruachan. Nationalism The members of Na Fianna in California were joined by thousands of other Irish immigrants to America, men and women who soon realized the dream of having a place they could call their own, since their original home was stolen from them. In 1848 California was annexed by the United States of America, an action that infuriated Na Fianna. In their thousands they protested, and soon open warfare shocked the nation. ]] This first insurrection was quickly put down, however Na Fianna learned valuable lessons about warfare, and the leadership of Na Fianna felt that a stronghold was needed. So, once again a mass exodus took place. But by this time there were far to many people for all to move, and since many of them were well established in and around Cruachan (technically called Sacramento), more than 95% of the 500,000 Fenians stayed where they were. However, a small number of die hard members moved, along with the leadership (by this time Na Fianna was a mix between a political party and militia) moved a few hundred miles to the east, into the Sliabhraon or Sierra Nevada (literally: mountain range). They settled on the southern shores of what was called Lake Tahoe. There, they stayed in constant contact with those still in the heartland of California, waiting for the day which they could spring their trap and have a nation of their own. Perhaps somewhat suprisingly, thousands of non-Irish settlers in California supported Na Fianna, particularly those of Germanic/Scandinavian and Scots-Irish heritage. They were disillusioned with what they felt was a distant government that innacurately represented their interests. Revolution In 1855, the situation was ripe for change. The Easterners were embroilled in conflict between North and South, endless politics that could only lead to one conclusion: warfare (something that eventually did happen in the form of the Civil War). The leader of Na Fianna, Padraic Mac Diarmaid (Patrick McDermott) decided it was time for revolution. On the foggy morning of May 1, 1855, soldiers of Na Fianna attacked and captured forts held by American Military forces. Later that day, the General Council of Na Fianna convened the first Senate (parliament) of the Republic of New Ireland. The Senate elected Padraic Mac Diarmaid as the interim President(or Taoiseach as it was called by Irish speakers) of the nation. Sacramento was soon captured and made the capital of the new nation by officially renaming it Cruachan, although Sacramento remained as the vernacular language name of the city by English speakers. Soon, though, American forces began moving into the interior of California, retaking territory that had recently been captured by the Garda Síochána (the name of the military of the new nation). By May 1858, the American Army was only 20 miles outside of the capital, Cruachan. Only 30,000 soldiers stood between the American Army and freedom. By August, the Fenians were on the run, having being driven out of Cruachan and the central valley. They retreated to what had become their stronghold in south Lake Tahoe. Here they proclaimed the Tahoe Republic in an act of defiance. For years they waited, preparing for the day when they could return out of the mountains and return to fighting. When the American Civil War started in 1861, the Fenians acted. A small force of diehard militants began attacking American forts, this time under the banner of the Tahoe Republic. This, many felt, would help inculde Scots-Irish and German settlers in California to assist them in their quest for independence. By 1862, hundreds of thousands of men were under arms on both sides as a nasty civil war embroiled the west coast. By 1865 though American forces were withing striking distance of Sacramento. In 1861, with the coming of Civil War to the American continent, the fledgling Tahoe Republic soon found itself at war again. During the interwar period there was a massive influx of nearly 1,000,000 immigrants, so numerically at least there was more equality between the Garda Síochána and the United States Army, which had once again decided to invade. More than 100,000 American soldiers in the Army of the Sacramento made their namesake city their target for the second time in 20 years, and they were successful again. In this Battle of Cruachan there was no miraculous reinforcements and 50,000 Tahoe died defending the city. The victorious Americans burned the city and claimed it as the capital of California Territory once again. Soon though, they were bogged down in a partisan war, and by 1863 had moved out towards to the Administrative Capitol city of South Lake Tahoe. On a cold winters day, December 23, 1863, the American Army of the Sacramento numbering 67,000 battled General Murphy's Army of Northern California numbering 61,000. This time, the Tahoe were completely victorious, crushing the Americans in a pincer movement and driving them into the Klamath River. The war raged until well into late 1865. Despite the transfer of thousands of American soldiers from the Eastern Front, newly victorious over the Confederacy, public opinion turned against the war that was sucking up thousands of lives and millions of dollars that could be spent on the Reconstruction of the South. The American people had no desire to keep a distant region in the Union like they did with the South. So in 1867, President Johnson of the USA and President MacDermott of the Tahoe Republic signed a peace treaty, guaranteeing Tahoan independence. Today in Tahoe The Tahoe Republic is a large nation, lying on the western seaboard of North America, governing the continental North American Pacific coast. It is a beautiful nation, notable for it's stunning natural and human environment. Ruled as a Presidental Republic, the Tahoe Republic was famous for it's very libertarian policies. It served as a posterchild for many conservative nations around the world, as the Tahoe Republic has a very small, non-intrusive government, low taxes and a large military. After the Conflict, however, the government has adopted a significant change in our policies to liberalize the country. A free market serves the nation well, and the corporate center Sacramento is among the finest in the world. Some of our major technological advances were lost in the Conflict and there was a drain in overall industrialization, but most citizens still live very comfortably. Tahoe's society has experienced a massive shift since the Conflict began. With the conservative government and nationally-supported religions essentially ousted, many took advantage and changed the status quo. Things like abortion and homosexual marriage are legal but still divisive, and while many are very religious there is no more support of an official church. However, the local populaces are pushing for much change in the area of abortion, especially to re-illegalize it despite strong pressure against it from above. Crime is almost completely unheard of, thanks to the multitude of policies that attack the symptoms and root of the problems. A well-equipped police force maintains order, and Tahoe's education system is the envy of the region. Violent crimes such as rape and murder are held in top priority, and violent convicts of the incredibly accurate criminal justice system are often executed as opposed to wasting resources. Gangs and dangerous subversive groups are targetted with similar tenacity. Civil crimes such as miscgeniation and corruption are treated in more financially based manner. All schoolchildren learn to speak both Gaeilge (Irish) and English as well as one more elective language (German is the most popular). Science, Mathematics, Literature and History are critical components of curriculum, although physical education, art and music are also focused upon. A strong sense of National unity, honor and integrity exists almost universally in Tahoe. Citizens are fiercely loyal to the National cause. Foreign influence is frowned upon, in an intellectual ethnocentric sort of manor. This is due to the racial and tribal homogeneity of this nation's history. The surrounding community views this culture as corrupt, but to the citizens of Tahoe, anything else would be destructive, degenerate, backwards and unthinkable. Likewise, citizens of Tahoe view other, more multicultural, socialist countries as corrupt and immoral, and think back upon their harrowing time under British rule in Ireland. Since the Conflict, there has been a growing minority of Mexican and American citizens that have pushed the nation's identity to a center-right rather than simply right ideology. National unity is still very strong but the concept of multicultural corruption is less extreme. Citizens tend to adopt a "Tahoe-first" policy rather than simply an outright nationalistic viewpoint. Government Tahoe has a presidential system with extreme power. In order to reduce government, the positions of President and Prime Minister were merged and positions reversed. The office of President is now held by the two High Governors. The Presidential office may present a new bill or tax to parliament to be debated on and passed; the parliament members may also submit bills themselves for debate. There are different Committees in parliament to debate different bills. The Supreme Court defines the legality of all laws passed by the Senate, and has its 13 members elected for 7 year terms by the general public. The Tahoe Republic is divided into two Governances: North Tahoe and South Tahoe. Each Governance is divided into states. South Tahoe consists of California, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado, while the New Mexico state is occupied by New Mexico. North Tahoe consists of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Tahoan Canada. The states are responsible for all elections, tax collection, maintanance of public records, and local-level courts and laws within their borders, as well as providing law enforcement (through the County Constable and his deputies) to areas that do not lie within incorporated cities. The counties are divided into ridings, depending on size. The counties vary between having no ridings (only one administrative unit) and up to 12 ridings. The ridings are divided into parishes, defined as rural, village, town or city depending on size and status. Large cities can be divided into dozens of city parishes, while a medium town can have numerous town parishes, villages are usually one parish and rural parishes can be huge in size but small in population. Counties are comprised of ridings, which in turn have parishes defined as either rural, village, town, or city based on population and status. Many rural parishes are specially defined regions in which a purely agrarian life is practiced, often without technology. Very rarely does the Federal Government intervene in local affairs, as that is the realm of the counties. However, strict environmental laws are in place to keep the nation secure. The Federal Government mainly concerns itself with foreign affairs, and thus there is a very libertarian attitude in the nation. Abortion and gay marriage were once banned but are now legal; they are very unpopular however. No form of welfare exists and there is no such thing as punishing people for a crime in which there is no victim. Current Govenernment of Tahoe High Governor of South Tahoe: Arturo Chavez High Governor of North Tahoe: Christopher Bogart Minister of Foreign Affairs: Cathal Cavanah Minister of State: Kasper Fernando Minister of the Treasury: Seamus O'Donnell Minister of Labor and Industry: Ronan Ó Síocháin Minister of Commerce: Aidan Ó Dochartaigh Minister of Justice: Michael Fitzgerald Minister of Health: Eoin MacDonald Minister of Defense: Mick Flanagan Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Colin Flanagan Administrative Divisions The Tahoe Republic is divided into provinces 13 states(also frequently called provinces), which are in turn divided into counties. The provinces have no legislative authority and are used as administrative divisions by the national government, although provincial pride is still strong. The provinces are currently: Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Hawaii, Cuba, and Nova Scotia. The states are responsible for all elections, tax collection, maintanance of public records, and local-level courts and laws within their borders, as well as providing law enforcement (through the County Constable and his deputies) to areas that do not lie within incorporated cities. All laws not given to the Federal Government are granted to the counties, and thus they have a great deal of power on internal affairs. The counties are divided into ridings, depending on size. The counties vary between having no ridings (only one administrative unit) and up to 12 ridings. The ridings are divided into parishes, defined as rural, village, town or city depending on size and status. Large cities can be divided into dozens of city parishes, while a medium town can have numerous town parishes, villages are usually one parish and rural parishes can be huge in size but small in population. In addition, there are two civilian governed territories: Baja California and Bajamas. They have small populations with little economic interest but are integral parts of the Republic. There are currently no military governed territories. Military territories, as their name implies, have military governance and are primarily military bases. Civilians there have no legal rights under the Consitution. Demographics Population As of 2010, Tahoe's population is estimated at 56,984,235, making it large-sized. Race and Ethnicity Over 60% of Tahoe's residents are of Western European descent, with the largest ancestries being Irish. There is a growing Mexican minority in Tahoe, which accounts for 10%, while the American minority is shrinking at 15%. Tahoe has the reputation of being homogeneous, but that isn't entirely true, as evidenced by the fact that nearly 40% of the population is of non-Irish ethnicity. However, due to extensive integration policies, nearly the entire population speaks Irish fluently. Futhermore, Tahoan citizens are stereotyped as being Irish by the world, and this contributes to the reputation. Tahoans also have a distinctive look, regardless of ancestry. Tahoans are characterized by being tall (the average height for males is 6'3" and for females 5'9"), with light colored hair and eyes (70% of Tahoans have blond or red hair, and 95% have green or blue eyes). '''Religion Tahoe is overwhelmingly a Roman Catholic nation, with 97% of the population attending a Catholic Church. The remaining three percent is mostly Protestant, with tiny minorities of druidist pagans. Over 80% of Tahoans attend Church weekly, and 99% attend monthly. Military (Armed Forces of the Tahoe Republic) The Garda Síochána is the Irish name of the Armed Forces of the Tahoe Republic. The Garda is divided into three branches, Air Force, Army and Naval Force. The Garda is responsible for defending Tahoe and her allies and thus operates with the doctrine of foreward defence, using first strikes and offensive operations to destroy the enemy before reaching Tahoe. The Garda has suffered 411,017 casualties since systematic registration of all killed in action began. The Tahoe Air Force is responsible for defending the airspace of the Tahoe Republic. It is often deployed overseas to strike at enemy targets before they reach Tahoe proper. The primary air defense interceptor/fighter-bomber is the TAC-22 Seabhac, while transportation is the responsibility of TAC-130 Hercules and strategic bombing is conducted by the TAC-160. The Army of the Tahoe Republic is the primary land force of the Tahoe Republic, charged with defending the territory as well as forming Expeditionary Forces to combat the enemies of the Republic overseas. The Armored Corps operates all armored vehicles for the Army in armored brigades integrated into infantry units. The Army operates a large special forces group known as the Fiannóglach, which can be deployed anywhere in the world within 12 hours. The Tahoe Naval Force is responsible for coastal defense, convoy protection and heavy first strike operations overseas. It is equipped with 6 aircraft carriers, 9 submarines (both attack and ballistic missile) 8 frigates, 12 destroyers, 16 corvettes and 32 patrol boats, as well as a number of transportation and supply vessels. National Police Irish for "Peace Guard of Tahoe", often rendered as "The Guardians of the Peace of Tahoe" is the police force of the Tahoe Republic. The force is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Tahoan Government. Its headquarters are located in the Dublin Park in Cruachan. The Garda is the National Police force of the Tahoe Republic Category:Nations Category:Tahoe